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US 6,823,365 B1Granted
Method and apparatus for redirection of data when electronic mail is restricted
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsSteve Mattis, John Hall
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus for determining if a data set for transmission can be set directly via e-mail, given predetermined thresholds for sending, or whether it is more expedient to reroute the data set to a web site. Every time a user sends document to e-mail, transparently the size of the document and job is compared to the thresholds and the system automatically determines the best available routing, reformatting if necessary.
Claims20
A process for transmitting electronic mail messages from an original sender over a computer network, comprising the steps of:
- predetermining a size threshold for transmission of electronic mail messages;
- determining a size of an electronic mail message after the original sender attempts to send said message to an intended recipient but prior to actual transmission of said message from the sender toward the recipient;
- and
- if said size is less than said threshold, transmitting said electronic mail message from the sender to the intended recipient, and
- if said size is greater than said threshold, transmitting said electronic mail message from the original sender to a separate data storage site instead of to the intended recipient.
2 more elements
A system for transmitting data sets over a network comprising:
- at least one digital sender configured to transmit a data set including an electronic mail message and an electronic mail attachment, said digital sender being coupled to the network, the network having a plurality of computing devices thereon, said computing devices each having electronic mail and computer network navigation tools;
- and
- means for routing data sets over the network, including means for determining size of a data set to be routed to a predetermined electronic mail destination after an original sender attempts to send said data set but prior to actual transmission of said data set from the sender toward an intended recipient, means for comparing a determined data set size to a threshold, means for rerouting said data set from electronic mail to a data storage site when said determined data set size is greater than said threshold such that said data set is not transmitted as an electronic mail message to a recipient, means for substituting an electronic mail message for an original electronic mail message, said substituted electronic mail message including a link to the data site, and means for sending said substituted electronic mail message to the predetermined electronic mail destination when said determined data set size is greater than said threshold.
A multifunctional peripheral apparatus for a computer network, comprising:
- a document digitizing subsystem for converting a document into a digital data set that can be transmitted as an electronic mail attachment;
- connected to said document digitizing subsystem, a sending module for transmitting a data set created with said document digitizing device;
- and
- associated with said sending module, a routing subsystem for determining if a data set is to be transmitted via electronic mail or via a data storage unit relative to a determined size of said data set, wherein said routing subsystem determines the size of said data set upon an original sender attempting to send said data set via electronic mail but before said data set is actually transmitted from the sender toward an intended recipient, compares the determined size with a predetermined threshold, and diverts said data set to said data storage unit if the determined size exceeds the predetermined threshold, said data storage unit being at a location separate from a location of the intended recipient.
1 more element
A computer memory comprising:
- a program for routing data sets over a computer network, including computer readable coded instructions for predetermining a data set size threshold;
- computer readable coded instructions for determining a data set size;
- and
- computer readable coded instructions for transmitting said data set via electronic mail from an original sender to an intended recipient if said data set size is less than the threshold, and
- computer readable coded instructions for transmitting said data set from the sender directly to a data storage site instead of the intended recipient if said data set size is greater than the threshold, said instructions for transmitting said data set directly to a data storage site being activated by an attempt by the original sender to send said data set to the intended recipient prior to actual transmission of said data set toward the intended recipient.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.